New Principles for the Layout of Railway Infrastructure Serving Seaports

Purpose: The design solutions and layout principles of the railway infrastructure serving the ports contained in the technical and educational literature have not been revised for a considerable period. Significant changes have occurred, in terms of both the organization of the work of railway transport, and its interaction with water transport. Furthermore, the noteworthy escalation in transshipment volumes across numerous seaports should be given due consideration. These circumstances necessitate a thorough revision and updating of the current principles that govern the configuration of railway infrastructure serving ports. Methods: The studies were conducted using a retrospective and system analysis of the schemes and principles of the railway infrastructure layout around seaports, as well as the port node operation technologies. Results: The existing standard solutions are inadequate in terms of cargo turnover in several Russian seaports. It has been determined that the development of new layout schemes for railway infrastructure with significant port cargo turnover should be undertaken with consideration for the flow of train and shunting movements. It has been determined that current principles for organizing the work of connecting points involve the arrangement of “dry ports”, the presence of which is not provided for by the existing design solutions. Practical significance: Proposed changes to the layout of the railway infrastructure servicing the seaports have been formulated. Implementation of these proposals will create new standard solutions.